


corner office

by saraheli



Series: corner office [2]
Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Angst, CEO Seunghoon, Eventual Smut, F/M, Plot Twists, Reader-Insert, Secretary Reader, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-05-15 11:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saraheli/pseuds/saraheli
Summary: As a brand new secretary in an office where the girls in your position are replaced on a regular basis, shooting you directly up to the desk outside the corner office of a wealthy CEO makes you nervous. What makes you more nervous, however, is the way he talks and the way his suit lays against him. The office treats you well, but Lee Seunghoon treats you better.





	corner office

            “Didn’t I ask you to get me a coffee?”

            You looked up from your notepad to see Lee Seunghoon standing before you, his hands shoved into the pockets of his suit pants as he stood before you.

            You winced at the words. This morning had been as dreary as the weather. You had ruined the blouse hiding beneath your cardigan with a cup of your favorite tea poured in a beautiful waterfall down your front, your friend from college had called and cancelled your long-awaited lunch date, and, to top it all off, you had managed to forget your lunch all together along with the copies you were supposed to have done before ten. So, yes, he undoubtedly had asked you for a coffee and you had undoubtedly forgotten.

            “Yes, you did, Mr. Lee,” you sighed, “I’m sorry about that, I’ll have it for you in just a moment.”

            Now, any other man with nothing to prove would have taken the opportunity to check in with the clearly flustered young lady, but Seunghoon pointedly did not. It wasn’t that he wasn’t concerned, which he wasn’t, but more that he wanted to see you squirm finally. You’d been so good for him for the past few weeks, and, now that your new-girl-shine had worn down, it was refreshing to see you finally feeling the pressure of the job he’d given you.

            He waved his hand dismissively, “Okay, just have it on my desk before my eleven o’clock meeting. I need to be awake for that.” He chuckled a little at his private thought about what he would be forced to drink in lieu of coffee if you failed him, but, instead of including you in this joke, he shuffled past you back to his office.

            Now, with your confidence only about half as stained as your top, you finally made your way to the copy room in hopes of salvaging your morning.

            “Gosh, girl! You look like someone stole your lollypop,” Jisu said, pinching your elbow as she came past you in the break room. “What’s going on?”

            “Weird morning,” you replied with a shrug. “And now I’m just forgetting things left and right…I need to get more sleep tonight, I think it’s really messing with me.”

            “Hm, well, don’t let on to Mr. Lee that you’re down. Keep your head up! Consistently good work will only impress him more because it’s our job to make the workplace seamless—it’s meant to be _so_ seamless that no one notices us if we can help it.”

            You put in a singular cube of sugar and packet of liquid creamer as you’d been advised, multiple times, was Mr. Lee’s coffee preparation of choice.

            “Right,” you nodded, slowly swirling the mixing stick through the mug’s contents. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind today, Jisu. Thanks.”

            It didn’t make you feel any better, but it did give you something else to think about. How many people in this office were hiding themselves to please the people at the top? Probably all of them. A well-oiled machine doesn’t have off-days after all, especially not if any of the cogs plan on getting that promotion to HR or up into sales. Definitely not if the corner office is breathing down your neck.

            “Here’s your coffee, Mr. Lee,” you set the cup down noiselessly in the usual place on his desk. “I’m sorry again about the delay, I don’t know what came over me this morning.”

            Seunghoon had to force himself not to scoff; he knew that the two of you were both aware of your morning mood.

            “S’fine. I presume that it won’t happen again, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he met your eyes beneath a raised eyebrow. “Correct?”

            You nodded once, “Yes, now, I’ll have those ten o’clock copies ready for you in a few minutes.” You turned away and started towards the door, but you paused mid-step and gritted your teeth at his next remark.

            “Because it’s a few minutes until ten?”

            You refrained from giving him the dirty look you’d worked onto your now crumpled features, “Yes.”

            If you’d looked back then, if you’d given in to your irritation for just a moment, you would have seen the sly smile that ghosted Seunghoon’s lips. He made a mental note to tell you how cute you were when you were angry sometime. That would undoubtedly rile you up. However, he shook the thought from his head, reminding himself that you weren’t his plaything. You were his employee, and he should think of you as such. His employee with the sunny smile and unbreakable air of calm. He returned his eyes to his work forcibly, listening carefully for the sound of his office door closing behind you.

 

            The week continued on in this fashion: bad mornings bleeding into worse days, and, rather than merely hiding it from your boss, you began to try to hide it from everyone around you. Your smile was slightly dimmer, your façade slightly weaker.

            “I don’t know why you’re so down,” Jisu leaned against your desk as you worked. “Everyone here loves you, you’re doing so well—Mr. Lee seems impressed with you. There are whispers of a promotion in the works next month.” She raised her eyebrows when you elicited barely a hum of acknowledgment in response. “I think you need to go out tonight.”

            You scoffed, finally looking away from your spreadsheet. “Look, Jisu, you and I both know that—”

            “…that it would make you feel better? Come on! It’ll be fun! I’ll take you,” she nudged your arm with her knee. “It’s Friday! You deserve to give yourself a little break to restart so that next week won’t be like this one, right?”

            Your lips perked up a little at the corners, and you shrugged, “Sure.”

 

            That night, you forced yourself into a cocktail dress. You hadn’t worn one since the holiday party at your last job, and you felt strangely costumed while wearing it. You smoothed out the wrinkles against your thighs and let out a short sigh. You could already imagine the little squeal of excitement Jisu would let out upon seeing you; she was so genuinely invested in your happiness, it was remarkable really. Though you two had only known each other for a short time, you felt like you could let loose around her at least a little, and you were thankful for that kind of presence in the sea of unfamiliarity that your professional life had become.

            You thought you knew the office world, too. All of them were essentially the same, but this one was different. The people were more distant from each other, and the air was colder and heavier. Cordial seemed to be as close as you could get with most people, save Mr. Lee, who was far from cordial, and Jisu, who was the human embodiment of a daffodil, and, though this wasn’t necessarily strange for a workplace of any kind, this city was new to you. This world of high-stakes and men in suits was new to you. You were lost and searching for something of substance to latch onto. Maybe you would find that tonight with Jisu. Maybe you wouldn’t.

            When Jisu came to pick you up, she alerted you in the stereotypical American style with a loud sound of her horn and a little whooping holler. You grabbed your purse and slid into the passenger’s seat.

            “Damn girl, you look good!” She giggled, swatting your knee playfully before she pulled away from the curb.

            “Thanks,” you eyed her briefly. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

            “I sure hope not. Now, we’re not going to a club. I know I didn’t say that we were, but you might have assumed. No, we are going somewhere very special,” she waggled her eyebrows as she drove.

            “Um, and where is that, exactly?”

            “Your first office party with us,” Jisu beamed. “Well, sort of. Today is the birthday of one of our shareholders. Don’t worry, they didn’t send out invitations or anything, I just know some people. Anyway! It’s really important to make a good impression by showing that we remember, and, if we bring some people he’s never met before—i.e. you—then he’ll feel more connected to the company and, therefore, keep his assets with us.” She turned into a parking lot. “I go to all of these things,” she continued. “Mr. Lee likes to say that I’m the reason our investors stay at all.”

             You scrunched up your nose at the thought of Mr. Lee saying such a thing to her.

            “Does he always flirt with his employees?”

            Jisu chuckled, “I would barely call it flirting. Why? Do you have eyes for the boss?”

            You scoffed, “He’s…course.”

            She giggled, parking the car. “Care to elaborate on that statement?”

            “He just likes his power a lot. I think he likes to play with people because of that,” you shrugged. “I don’t think he’s capable of genuinely flirting with someone beyond believing he can get a rise out of them or something.”

            “Damn,” Jisu looked over at you as she set her purse in the crook of her elbow. “Got him all figured out, huh?” She cocked her eyebrows at you teasingly, and you felt your complexion warm up under her playful pestering.

           “I didn’t say that—I don’t have an interest in finding out if I’m right. Besides, I would much rather keep my job than find out that Mr. Lee genuinely does have an interest in banging me on a conference table.”

            “Now _that_ is something I can live by!” Jisu nodded towards you before exiting the car.

           The party was held in a convention space off the lobby of a hotel downtown. The room was filled with black satin and gold cufflinks. A subtle jazz ambiance was shrouded ever so slightly with the tinkling of crystal glassware and laughter filled with faux warmth. You could smell Chanel and Givenchy emulating from the crowd as you slipped between people, following Jisu’s lead.

            You wrapped your fingers tightly around the curve of your purse, clutching it to the front of your hip tightly as if to protect yourself from the disingenuity that stank up the air. You smiled shyly to men that Jisu seemed to know, batting your eyelashes and pretending to be something meek that they didn’t have to worry about putting their money into. That was your job here tonight, wasn’t it?

            Jisu wrapped her slender fingers around your wrist as she led you to where Seunghoon sat. He was standing behind his seat, hair cleanly slicked away from his face. His suit coat draped beautifully from his slender figure, and the easygoing and nearly arrogant nature of his smile made your upper lip curl in irritation.

            “Miss Jisu,” Mr. Lee grandly gestured to the two of you. “Oh, and I see you’ve brought the new girl along. How charming of you.”

            _Charming?_ You turned to Jisu to ask what he meant, but she was already giggling.

            “Of course, Mr. Lee,” she cooed. “You seemed to like her so much, I just figured that these other gentlemen deserved the blessing of her company, too.”

            The other men at the table chittered their compliments and gratitude before each of them was introduced to you. You felt like a show dog or a mannequin in a window display; your smile was mild and forced, each handshake firm but meek. Jisu rubbed your back in reassurance as she paraded around with you, each participating in your own conversations with many powerful men. You gave your polite congratulations to the host of the party before Jisu brought you finally to Mr. Lee.

            “Thanks for coming Jisu,” he eyed you and took a sip of his drink before speaking again. “And thank you for making an appearance. I didn’t know you would be here.”

            “Well, I am. I didn’t know I would be here either,” you replied frankly. “Jisu kind of sprang that one on me in the car, actually.”

            “Hm,” he chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you did. It’s good for newbies to get their footing at these kinds of events early on. It helps a lot in the long run, actually.”

            You furrowed your eyebrows. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but there was definitely something strange about that concept. Why would the people that work printing pamphlets and filing reports need to know anything about the superficial world of the stockholder and billionaire? You didn’t bother asking as you imagined he would speak condescendingly as he gave some vague answer, and, to be honest, you weren’t in the mood for that.

            “Right,” you said despite your thoughts. “Where can I get a drink?”

            Mr. Lee nodded towards the bar, but, rather than telling you, he took a step forward, “Here. I’ll take you for one. Jisu, make sure the fellas don’t miss me too much, okay?”

            You met eyes with Jisu who stared at you with her eyebrows raised in surprise. She gave you a little wave as if to give you her permission to go with him, and, before you could give any response of your own, Seunghoon was guiding you to the bar with the ghost of his hand on the small of your back.

            Once you were at the bar, you leaned as close to the wood as you could, but his hand never left your dress. You shifted, wondering how to get away without being too rude.

            “What are you thinking?” He asked, watching the bartender serve a couple at the other end of the counter. “I’m a whiskey man myself, but I haven’t spent enough time with you to guess.” He chuckled.

            You huffed out a faked half-laugh through your nose and nodded. He was acting in the same cold and strangely disconnected manner as he always did, but he seemed oddly warmer tonight despite this. You wondered if you should be chalking it up to the alcohol or the need to keep appearances or maybe his tie was too tightly tied around his throat, but somewhere in your mind you knew he was playing at something else.

            “Just a soda for me, I think,” you said thoughtfully as if the decision had taken serious contemplative thought. You ignored the way he seemed to study you for that choice, clearing your throat before telling the server what you wanted.

            “So, Jisu forced you to come, huh?”

            “Yes. She said we were going out, and I was silly enough to assume that ‘going out’ didn’t mean working, too,” you nodded to the bartender in thanks for your drink.

            Seunghoon chuckled, “Well, believe me, it’s a good thing she brought you.”

            “And why exactly is that?”

            Mr. Lee didn’t respond for a moment, turning around to rest on his elbows against the bar. He looked over at you, and his gaze was so intense that it made you swallow. He looked away again, and you couldn’t help but stare at the movement of his throat as he took another swig of his whiskey.

            “I’ve been replacing the people in your position for years. It became common practice every three months or so; do the quarterlies and find a new desk girl,” he settled back a little more, and the collar of his shirt opened ever so slightly to reveal his golden skin beneath. “I don’t think I’ll be needing to do that for a little while longer this time.”

            You raised your eyebrows, “Are you trying to say that you like me, Mr. Lee?”

            His lips curled into that cocky smile that made your stomach churn with a combination of attraction and repulsion.

            “Maybe _like_ is the wrong word. I would sooner say,” he met your eyes venomously, that leering smile still on his mouth, “ _appreciate_.”

 

            You went home that evening with more questions than pleasure of any kind.

            “You must be special,” Jisu had said to you as she pulled up to your house again that evening. “Mr. Lee doesn’t usually like to talk alone with employees. I think he believes it to be beneath his status.”

            You snorted, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

            “But, that makes me wonder what makes _you_ different,” she leaned back in her seat as she parked the car. “The last person he did that to was me, so maybe you’ll be the new _me_ someday.” She smiled at you, but it was tinged with something darker that you wished you could attribute to merely alcohol or the late hour.

            “I don’t think you’ll be replaced any time soon, Jisu, I mean, seriously?” You shifted your bag into your lap, “Everyone loves you, and you’re so on top of your shit—I just don’t see why he would even _consider_ looking for someone else.”

            “You’d be surprised,” she replied, her voice suddenly solemn. “I used to be in your shoes, but, well, I’m not anymore. I might not even be in my own shoes soon.” She chuckled, “But don’t you worry about that. You should just be glad that Mr. Lee is fond of you. He’s a good man to have in your corner.”

            “He’s not in my—”

            “He is. I know he might not seem like it but believe me. He likes you, and life always seems to go better for the ones that he likes.”


End file.
